Ames Chapel

The Ames Chapel is a focal point of the Hingham Cemetery, a picturesque garden cemetery and arboretum modeled after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass. Dedicated in 1887, the chapel was designed by a young local architect, J. Sumner Fowler, in a blend of the Queen Anne and Stick styles. Originally used as a funerary chapel, it has served since the 1920s as office space and storage for cemetery operations. In 2011 the cemetery board began to execute its vision for the revitalization and rehabilitation of the building as a fully accessible venue for the community, equipped to host a range of activities. Our firm provided structural engineering consultation for restoration of this historical building to Spencer & Vogt Group. The joint effort received a prestigious W. Bradford Sprout Preservation Award in 2016.

Field investigation and structural conditions assessment report with recommendations for structural retrofit, repairs, and preservation for adaptive reuse